Electrical Engineer to Face Trial for Her Faith; Father-in-Law Sues Police and Procuratorate

August 23, 2017 | By a Minghui correspondent in Hebei Province

(Minghui.org) An electrical engineer of the Tangshan Steel Group is facing trial for refusing to renounce Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline being persecuted by the Chinese communist regime.

As no law in China criminalizes Falun Gong, Ms. Wang Yaxin’s father-in-law is suing the local police and procuratorate for arresting and indicting his daughter-in-law without any legal basis.

Ms. Wang is not the only one in her family targeted for her faith. Her husband, Mr. Chen Liwu, has also been repeatedly arrested for his faith. He was once given 2.5 years in prison.

Ms. Wang was most recently arrested on May 7, 2017. She was held at Yutian County Lockup for more than one week before being transferred to Tangshan City First Detention Center on May 19.

Ms. Wang’s lawyer tried to visit her at the detention center on June 20 but was denied a meeting with his client. He was told that Yutian County police instructed the detention center not to grant the lawyer any visits while the case was in the investigative phase.

The lawyer then went to Yutian County Procuratorate, where a staff named Shi Zhenbiao refused to accept the documents the lawyer gave him.

The lawyer tried the detention center again on July 12 but was still denied visits with Ms. Wang.

Ms. Wang received her indictment on August 3. Zhang Shaoping of Yutian County Procuratorate was the prosecutor assigned to her case.

Ms. Wang’s father-in-law filed a complaint against Yutian County Police Department and Yutian County Procuratorate, accusing them of dereliction of duty. He argued that the police arrested and the procuratorate indicted his daughter-in-law without any legal basis.

The lawyer was finally allowed to see Ms. Wang on August 14. Ms. Wang appeared in good spirits, for which she credits her continued practice of Falun Gong at the detention center.

The lawyer visited Yutian County Court afterwards, but Judge Zhang refused to allow him to review Ms. Wang’s case file. Judge Shao said, “You can sue us anywhere you want! I’ll see if you can have us recused from the case!”

The lawyer complained to a court president, who eventually allowed him to review the case file. But he was not allowed to photocopy the list of items police confiscated from Ms. Wang’s home.